Fabric manipulation is also called "Layered cloth" and you use textiles that you put in layers upon layers on top of each other and then you sew and cut. It's super fun to do and it's a bit of a surprise every time, you can largely control how you want it but not completely. Textiles has a will of it´s own...
In my huge pile of discarded clothes, I have a lot of t-shirts that belonged to my children. Most of these t-shirts are well used and a little worn, but there are also those that are still quite intact. You can donate the clothes that are ok, but who wants your old t-shirts with advertising prints or shirts that were used in unknown football cups? Such t-shirts are perfect to use if you want to engage in textile manipulation.
Cut out squares of the size you want and pin it together in a layer on top of each other. Six layers is quite enough to have an effect. If you have more layers, it can be too thick and if you have fewer, it will usually not be as effective.
If you have never done textile manipulation before, it is appropriate to cut out pieces that are about 10 cm / 4 inches , then it will not be too big and difficult to work, nor too small and fussy.
The result will be different depending on the material you sew in. Old t-shirts are good to use to combine with other materials. Here I have used five old t-shirts and a piece of chiffon.
A good tip is to start on the diagonal the first time you do "textile manipulation". Start from one edge and sew diagonally up to the next corner. Then sew outwards with presser-foot-wide seam allowance. Remember to back stitch at the beginning and end of each row.
When you have finished sewing all the rows, carefully cut between the seams. Be careful not to cut in the last layer as this will be your bottom fabric. I had an orange, blue and white striped fabric under the chiffon and these shine through because the chiffon is so thin.
After you have cut up the fabric, you should roughen it up completely or preferably wash it in a washing machine to create most effect.
Play with the possibilities and try different ways of sewing.
In this picture I have sewn small squares that I have cut up in different ways and sewn together with throw stitches and French knots. Then I embroidered NO PAIN NO GAIN in the boxes. I do not know if I think it turned out so great but it was surely fun to create it.
For this shining sun, I put yellow and orange pieces of fabric in the upper left corner.
This textile manipulation was also done by sewing small squares in the fabric which I then cut up, but here I cut it up in a different way than I did in the black and red one.
What is extra good about textile manipulation is that you can easily change it if you are not fully satisfied. I was not completely happy with the fabric above and wanted to do something different with it, so I looked for an old collar with dogs on. The dogs had become quite itchy through frequent use so it did not feel fun to wear that collar anymore. So I put the scissors in the collar and selected one of the dogs.
As soon as the dog arrived I got satisfied. Voff! Voff!
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